Ukrainian military intelligence has claimed that North Korean soldiers are struggling in the war against Ukraine and have turned to alcohol to cope

Russia is deploying “human waves” of North Korean soldiers, the U.S. said, and one soldier captured by Ukraine died of his injuries. Others died by suicide.

U.S. and Ukrainian intelligence suggests that Russia is using North Korean soldiers essentially as canon fodder for nearly impossible missions.

The U.S. accused Russia of deploying North Korean troops in Ukraine, forcing them into massed, often suicidal, assaults against Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region. According to U.S. officials, many North Korean soldiers have taken their own lives rather than face capture, fearing reprisals against their families back home.

Russians continue to engage units of the army of North Korea in combat operations in the Kursk region. On New Year's Eve, the North Korean soldiers got drunk, according to the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine.